Ireland Week
- Julie Shamblin
- Mar 25, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 22, 2024
An Ireland global studies unit for homeschool, worldschool or just for fun.
This week is all about the Republic of Ireland and Norther Ireland. We learned about the potato famine, Irish folklore, the region's history and, of course, leprechauns! We timed this week so it would coincide with St. Patrick's Day.
Printables
Here's this week's info, all wrapped up into an easy-to-read printable. Click here for the full color copy and click here for a low-ink black and white version.
On the Dining Room Wall
This map, a few pictures from some calendar's I've cut up,
What We're Listening to
Irish music! There are tons of great options on any streaming service. Here's one of a billion YouTube channels.
Books
One from each category plus an assortment of picture books is usually just perfect.
Not all book series are as good as the next. Get the scoop on some of our favorites here.
Library Haul
Not all of these books will get read. Most library systems allow you to browse online and put books on hold. They'll round them up for you and deliver them to your local branch. It's a big time saver!
Base Non-Fiction Books:
Read every word or simply flip through and reach what catches your eye.
Leprechauns and Irish Folklore (Magic Treehouse Fact-Tracker #21) We just skimmed this one after we finished our Magic Treehouse book to get some background on Irish folklore.
How I Survived the Irish Famine A fictional journal of a young girl who survives the famine. It has historical pictures and illustrations and is written for a young audience but be warned, her story, like the real events, are pretty grim and contain several deaths and a lot of hardship.
Base Fiction Chapter Book:
Some of these books are part of a series but all of them work as standalone books.
Younger Learners:
Leprechaun in Late Winter (Magic Treehouse #38) Jack and Annie travel to Ireland to help inspire Lady Augusta Gregory who will go on to record ancient Irish tales.
Darcy (Horse Diaries #10) Like the rest of the books in this series, book is told from the horse's point of view. It's a nice story about an Irish Connemara Pony and her life on an Irish farm
Older Learners:
Kathleen: The Celtic Knot (Girls of Many Lands Series) We didn't actually get to this book but it sounded like it would have been a good fit so I'm listing it anyway.
Other Notable Chapter-Type Books
Have more time? Try these too.
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on an Irish Famine Ship! (You Wouldn't Want to Be Series) It was a tough time and this book tells you all the reasons why. These books are realistic but engaging.
Irish Immigrants in America (You Choose Book) My kids love making good decisions and bad decisions in these books and seeing what our ending will be. Be warned you will die in some of these endings.
Great Irish Legends for Children This collection of stories have nice illustrations are a great to read when you have just a few minutes.
Picture Books
Library inventories vary so much with picture books. Rather than wasting time tracking down specific ones, I like to do keyword searches and just grab what's available.
Search these keywords: Ireland, Dublin, Leprechauns, Potato Famine, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Irish Folklore, St. Patrick's Day.
Let's Visit Dublin! (Bella & Harry Book) As a traveler myself, I always love Bella & Harry's vibe so I frequently include these books. It's also nice to include a book about modern Ireland.
S is for Shamrocks This goes through the alphabet with nice little poems for each letter. A added bonus is that it has a few paragraphs about each letter's topic too, that you can choose to read or skip depending on interest level.
Megan's Year: An Irish Traveler's Story Irish Travelers are a marginalized group and this book takes us through the year of a young traveler and shows us her world.
The White Cat and the Monk A quiet story about a monk and his cat enjoying the simple pleasures in life.
The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane This beautiful book tells the story of a Middle Ages Irish monk who loves nature and whose experiments lead to colorful ink as seen in Irish manuscripts from the time.
Things to Watch*
*Always vet material before watching it with your kids, especially if they are sensitive viewers. I try to note any potential issues but everyone has different parenting thresholds of what they consider appropriate.
Interactive Learning: Crafts, Food, Activities
Get some Irish food!
Find some live Irish music.
Take an Irish Dancing class or go to a concert.
End of Week Movie Night Ideas
Wolfwalkers (PG, 2020)
My animal loving girls were thrilled with this beautifully animated movie about a girl who becomes a wolfwalker, a girl when she's awake and a wolf when she's asleep. Adventure ensues.
Song of the Sea (PG, 2014)
We didn't actually watch this one but it looks good.
The Secret of Kells (Not Rated, 2009)
We didn't actually watch this one but it looks good.
Segue Ideas... UK Week, Vikings Week, Titanic Week
Wrap Up
We had a great week learning about Ireland! Learning about the potato famine was sad but for a palate cleanser, we made sure to sprinkle in plenty of lighter folklore and leprechaun stories. This would be great for an Ireland global studies homeschool unit. Here are some cookies from St. Patrick's Day!
Final Moment
Before we had kids, Andy and I went to Ireland. Here's a picture of us at the Giant's Causeway.
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